InvestigateWest

When a 7-year-old girl, caught in the middle of a custody battle, said that her uncle r***d her and that her dad didn’t protect her, Angela Rinaldo wasn’t convinced.

Rinaldo, a guardian ad litem appointed to represent the child’s best interests, believed that the girl had been coached to make the allegations. She maintained that belief as prosecutors charged the uncle for child r**e and as a jury later convicted him.

A judge later called out Rinaldo for failing to do her job. But by then, the girl's mom said the damage had already been done.

A new Idaho law expands the definition of illegal sexual contact between prison staff and inmates, after InvestigateWest's reporting exposed how a previous state law made it difficult to prosecute prison guards for abuse.